David (left) and Kelly smile easily when talking about the success of their workshop. Kelly Malone and David Knight began Indie Mart and now run the Workshop on McAllister Street in San Francisco, CA. A series of hands on workshops has turned the place into a neighborhood event and fashion hub.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

David (left) and Kelly smile easily when talking about the success...

Image 2 of 2

A wonderful collage of light bulbs is typical of the artwork at the Workshop. Kelly Malone and David Knight began Indie Mart and now run the Workshop on McAllister Street in San Francisco, CA. A series of hands on workshops has turned the place into a neighborhood event and fashion hub.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

A wonderful collage of light bulbs is typical of the artwork at the...

At San Francisco's newest DIY hot spot, Workshop, don't expect to pay $600 for a six-week sewing course. There will be no quiet knitting circles or expensive alpaca yarn sold or Enya playing softly in the background. It will be loud and raucous, and everyone is invited.

But don't just take the word of Workshop's founders, local design Indie Mart's Kelly Malone and David Knight. Even though the lights were dimmed and the Punk Rock Pumpkin Carving class was finished, neighbors kept knocking. At least three people came by unannounced during The Chronicle's 45-minute conversation. One demanded a hug, another an event schedule.

"This happens a lot," Malone said, grinning. "People just stop by."

Malone, 35, a jewelry designer and dedicated maker of things (she tries to avoid the word "craft" - "too pretentious"), is mostly known as the founder of Indie Mart, a monthly social gathering with local vendors. It began in her backyard 2 1/2 years ago with an afternoon party and barbecue with 30 designer friends as a way for her to pay off medical bills stemming from her first of three bouts with ovarian cancer. The turnout astounded her: 300 or so people came by during the inaugural event.

Soon, it became a monthly occurrence, although it quickly outgrew her backyard. "I had to seal off a room of my house because 700 to 800 people were showing up," she recalled. "At one point, the bathroom line was 25 people deep." The beer-drinking, grilled-meat-chowing crowd was moved to 12 Galaxies, a music venue in the Mission District that has since closed. From there, it went to Thee Parkside, which pleased Malone, who wanted to keep the convivial, casual vibe going. This Sunday marks the last outdoor Indie Mart of the season; it will be held at the Independent during the winter.

Indie Mart was always meant to introduce shoppers to unheralded, hobbyist designers - the odd knitted-beer-cozy maker, silk-screen T-shirt merchants - alongside more established local names like Gama Go and Turk+Taylor. But she didn't plan on attracting store buyers.

"It started with buyers from Therapy and Candystore and places like that," Malone says, listing some popular Mission boutiques.

"Now I'd say that a quarter to a third of vendors have talked to buyers from local stores and gotten wholesale orders, which is awesome. It's great to be able to sell your stuff."

But almost from the beginning, Malone didn't just want to provide a space for people to buy and sell DIY goods - she wanted to show them how to make them. Enter David Knight, a fan of Indie Mart who eventually became a friend and then a crucial part of the logistics of making it all run. Their partnership has spawned Workshop, the storefront space just off of Divisadero that opened last month.

The space is a paean to all things reclaimed and handmade. A giant cluster of lightbulbs inspired by a Jeff Wall photo hangs above the main table; an assortment of buzz saws hangs in the corner. Copies of ReadyMade magazines sit next to old Heavy Metal comic books. It's an inviting, inventive space.

Knight said the look and feel of the place owe everything to Malone's aesthetic sensibility. "See this?" he asked, jumping out of his seat and running to the window. "We have a guy who saw the lightbulbs and brings more by." A casual glance at the schedule shows that Malone and Knight are aiming for a different crafting experience. Between Ping-Pong League, Rock 'n' Roll Sewing for Dudes (helpfully, the beer is included in the class fee), DIY Hooch: Brew Your Own Cider With Nick and other alcohol-themed classes, Workshop is no quiet knitting circle. This is by design.

"I want (Workshop) to be funny, smart-ass. I want guys to hang out, people to get phone numbers and then get drunk and make out in the bathroom," Malone said. "It's not another girly craft show."

For now, they are trying to start out slowly, although the Western Addition spot came together very quickly. It was about four weeks from the lease signing to opening-night party. Moving forward, they hope to increase class offerings as well as have more events like the Vintage Indie Mart, a smaller gathering with 12 vendors. They also want to give people studio space to drop in and work.

"It's been really exciting to see people discover how to do stuff they didn't think they could do," Malone said. Knight nods, adding that, with a day job in the Financial District, he didn't expect to become so enmeshed in this DIY world. "But it's worth it," he enthused. "People's faces just light up."